Tipsheet

Trump's Immigration Crackdown Delivers a Historic Drop in Both Legal and Illegal Immigration

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  April 14, 2026 2:00 PM

According to an analysis by the Cato Institute, President Trump’s immigration crackdown has not only significantly reduced illegal immigration to the United States but also led to a substantial decline in legal immigration. In raw numbers, the analysis finds that the Trump administration reduced legal immigration by more than it reduced illegal immigration.

Illegal immigration was swiftly addressed by the federal government once President Trump took office, as it was one of the central priorities and a key pillar of the president’s campaign. According to the Cato Institute, illegal immigration fell by over 80 percent, as the Department of Homeland Security reported a steady decline in border encounters and quickly shifted its attention to a nationwide deportation campaign.

However, the Trump administration has been just as effective, if not more so, when it comes to reducing legal immigration.

Legal entries by asylum seekers fell 99.9 percent, from nearly 40,000 per month in December 2024 to just 26 in February 2025. Refugee admissions are down 90 percent overall, from 12,518 in December 2024 to 1,341 in March 2026. Immigrant visa issuances fell by 50 percent, driven mainly by bans on immigrant visas for nationals from an additional 92 countries as determined by the Trump administration, along with the suspension of the Diversity Visa Lottery. H-1B visas are also down by around 25 percent from 2024 to 2025.

In total, the Trump administration has seen a larger reduction in legal immigration than in illegal immigration. The analysis pointed to monthly legal immigration decreases of about 132,000, compared with roughly 50,000 monthly reductions in illegal immigration. 

That puts legal immigration cuts at about 2.5 times those of illegal immigration, with nearly 72 percent of the overall decline in immigration coming from legal channels.

This comes as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller continues to emphasize the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting Americans from illegal immigration, revealing just days ago that DHS is continuing construction of the border wall. He also blasted House Republicans for advancing a bill that would provide amnesty to thousands of undocumented immigrants.